Implementing NAP is the only solution for government
Soon after the attack on Army Public School, the PML-N government started playing with the idea of taking the Operation Zarb-e-Azb to the urban centres and rural areas. In the days that followed, the government was long on words but short on action. An alarm was subsequently sounded by the army of RAW being involved in acts of terrorism with an aim to sabotage the CPEC project. There were complaints from the COAS that political leadership was reluctant to take the ownership of the operation in urban centres. Despite a lot of chest thumping by government leaders subsequently, there was still no real action.
Taking ownership requires implementing measures agreed upon in the National Action Plan (NAP). This is the minimum that needs to be done to check the terrorists’ advance. Measures like regulating the seminaries and stopping the banned outfits from operating continue to be voided because the government is afraid of backlash from the religious parties despite the army’s backing. The NACTA which was high on the NAP’s priority list remains dormant because the funds required to activate it are not being made available. The 2015-16 budget with a total outlay of Rs4.45 trillion does not provide Rs960 million required for the activation of the counter-terrorism body.
The shortcomings on the part of the federal government have led to a worsening of the situation in Balochistan, a province which has to play a key role in the CPEC project. Every incident is followed by the routine promises to soon put an end to killings of the sort. Reiterated again and again over the years, statements of the sort have bred cynicism and alienation. Within less than ten days of the Mastung killings, there have been two incidents of terrorism in Quetta, the latest taking toll of five members of the Hazara community. What is at risk are the lives of innocent citizens as well as the future of the CPEC. The only objective criterion of the government’s commitment is the implementation of NAP in letter and spirit.
